Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Olivia Bordone. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Olivia , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s something crazy on unexpected that’s happened to you or your business

Back in Mexico, when I was doing doggie day care and dog training at my house I saw Floki one of my regular dog client on my driveway staring at the front door. At first I panicked thinking he scaped from my house so I ran and brought him inside. I noticed he had several scratches so I asked my doggie helper what happened and was when I realized wasn’t the day that he came regularly.
So, what happened? Why he was outside all by himself and with scratches in all his body?
I quickly called the owner and she checked her security camera on her phone and realized that someone left opened the garage door and Floki ran outside and was hit by car! Next, he appeared outside my house, a 7 minute drive from his home!
I was worried about him but at the same time I felt so thrilled that he chose to come to my house and wait for me to invite him inside, this tells me how good the pups feel with the care I provide to them ;)

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Since I was a kid I loved nature and all animals, I was born in US and raced in Mexico where I started my journey with dogs, rescuing pups from the streets, healing, training and helping them to find their forever home. When I was in college I got from a friend a Shabrador (GS/Lab) which I started training him in a school where I decided to take the full year course to become a professional dog trainer,
I also had the opportunity to take courses in Italy and Sweden. My final thesis was about the natural method of training, the best way to have a true communication human-dog
I’m passionate about helping families to understand better their dogs and to teach them dog language in a positive way to communicate with their pups.
I’ help people to understand where comes from the unwanted behavior their dog is performing, giving them a solution by showing how to guide their dog to choose the wanted behavior.
I offer stress free boarding which means I welcome the pup into my pack at my home and I provide mental, physical stimulation and emotional support so they channel their energy positively plus I invite them to sleep in the same way they use to sleep in their own home making them happy and relaxed in their stay
I offer also tailored basic and advanced training which means giving the service in the place where the client wants to achieve goals with their dogs like paddle boarding in a lake with their best friend or going to a brewery, a coffee shop, down town, the airport etc…
I teach people how to meet all their dogs needs, train and solve behavioral issues with their dogs so they can enjoy their life together and pups can have a healthier and happy life
I believe in a triad (client, dog and trainer) working together in a compassionate, caring and respectful way for all ends to achieve goals
I’ve learned through the years that people put on their pets unconsciously different expectations and all sorts of emotions that sometimes may lead to unwanted behaviors so the way I change dog behaviors is by helping their human to recognize their own emotions and behaviors towards their dog and how this is affecting their dog. By being aware of this, the dog guardians start to relate and bond with their dog with consciousness therefore the magic occurs!
Yes! By Changing the human behavior towards the dog, this will change the dog behavior
What sets me apart is that I work with people to overcome their fears, to become confident and empowered so they can transmit the same to their dogs with calm and assertiveness
What I enjoy most is to work with puppies because they are like a book with white pages where you can start writing a beautiful story full of happy moments.
I love also working with mistreated, skittish and shy pups because make me SO happy seeing how they overcome their fear with patience, consistency and love transforming themselves giving us another chance to be trusted
What I’m most proud of is when people tell me I was their last chance before surrender their dog and I’m able to help them to keep and achieve their goals with their pup.
I want people to know that Barking Bonds not only train dogs but truly change the life of families with pets by showing them a positive way to communicate with their pups and teaching a life style being able to have a strong bond with their dog and enjoy life together plus they’ll learn how to speak dog to have a happy and healthy life for both ends :)

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

I decided in the middle of the pandemic on October 2020 to leave behind my life and 30+ years career in Mexico and I embarked myself in a new journey by coming to Fort Collins, CO in search for a better life for my sons, starting from scratch my business again, with little English and without knowing any body. A Mexican friend designed my webpage, business cards. Not knowing much about social media and marketing I decided to take an expensive course for dog trainers to learn how to get clients.
I tried to follow their advice which I didn’t like because put pressure on the client by letting them know how things could go wrong if they didn’t hire me immediately until I decided to change technique because I wasn’t myself
So I started by doing the meet and greet visits giving the client time to talk and listen carefully with an open heart their needs and replied them in a compassionate way giving them the time they needed to express themselves and to get the answers to their questions.
I learned some about social media but mostly my clients come from word of mouth

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think what built my reputation as a professional dog behaviorist is that I am honest and transparent with the clients without promising unrealistic results in order to get a contract Also I love my job, I’m passionate about it and that shows in each training session giving an extra mile without checking my watch to end the session sharply
I respect the dogs spirit and work ethically to achieve results in a positive way for both humans and dogs

Contact Info:

• Website: www.barkingbonds.com
• Instagram: @barkingbonds
• Facebook: Barking Bonds.com

Image Credits
Olivia Bordone Peter H Connelly